When is a general confession necessary?

[StrikingEagle]

I am confused. If a person goes to confession, say after a long absence from the Catholic Faith, is this confession not sufficient? Have read and been told ALL sins are forgiven at this time. Why is a general confession necessary? Why would someone do this? What is the purpose of repeating sins that have already been forgiven? Perhaps I don’t understand completely what a general confession is. Thanks for your replies.

 

[Vico]

I am confused. If a person goes to confession, say after a long absence from the Catholic Faith, is this confession not sufficient? Have read and been told ALL sins are forgiven at this time. Why is a general confession necessary? Why would someone do this? What is the purpose of repeating sins that have already been forgiven? Perhaps I don’t understand completely what a general confession is. Thanks for your replies.

Confession is integral meaning covering all mortal sins to date. All those remembered should be confessed once. The priest then gives absolution and a penance to perform.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains satisfaction:1460 The *penance *the confessor imposes must take into account the penitent’s personal situation and must seek his spiritual good. It must correspond as far as possible with the gravity and nature of the sins committed. It can consist of prayer, an offering, works of mercy, service of neighbor, voluntary self-denial, sacrifices, and above all the patient acceptance of the cross we must bear. Such penances help configure us to Christ, who alone expiated our sins once for all. They allow us to become co-heirs with the risen Christ, "provided we suffer with him."63

The satisfaction that we make for our sins, however, is not so much ours as though it were not done through Jesus Christ. We who can do nothing ourselves, as if just by ourselves, can do all things with the cooperation of “him who strengthens” us. Thus man has nothing of which to boast, but all our boasting is in Christ . . . in whom we make satisfaction by bringing forth “fruits that befit repentance.” These fruits have their efficacy from him, by him they are offered to the Father, and through him they are accepted by the Father.64​

The eastern Catholic canon law (CCEO) has a good summary of confession:Canon 718 - In the sacrament of penance, the Christian faithful who committed sins after baptism, internally led by the Holy Spirit, turn back to God, moved by the pain of sin, intent on entering a new life through the ministry of the priest, having themselves made a confession and accepted an appropriate penance, obtain forgiveness from God and at the same time are reconciled with the Church which they injured by sinning; by this sacrament they are brought to a greater fostering of the Christian life and are thus disposed for receiving the Divine Eucharist.

 

[Mark1124]

GENERAL CONFESSION. A confession of sins committed by the penitent since baptism, so far as they can be remembered. Such a confession is of course necessary in the case of those who have made no previous confession, or whose previous confessions have been invalid—e.g. because they wilfully concealed a mortal sin or were wanting in true and supernatural sorrow. It is advisable if the validity of the past confessions is very doubtful. But sometimes persons repeat in a general confession sins for which they have already received absolution, although there is no reason to consider this absolution invalid. Moral theologians and ascetical writers admit the utility of this practice in certain cases. Thus a person may reasonably desire to make such a confession in order to obtain direction when he proposes to enter on a new state of life; or, again, to acquire deeper humility and a better knowledge of himself. Hence it is common to make a general confession before first communion, ordination, religious profession, &c. But the practice of frequently making general confessions leads to great loss of time, occasions scruples, and is strongly discouraged by spiritual authors and prudent confessors.

William E. Addis and Thomas Arnold, A Catholic Dictionary (New York: The Catholic Publication Society Co., 1887), 369.

 

[StrikingEagle]

thanks…these answers help.

 

[Mary_Ellen]

I came back to the church about 12 years ago and have been going to confession regularly since then. For the past 6 years I’ve been going to confession every week or so. Shortly before I was received into the Carmelite Order as a Lay member, 3 years ago, I made a general confession at the age of 50.

I had 13 written pages of sins, only a small number of them had never been confessed because I’d forgotten them, and it took about an hour with the priest to confess them all. I concentrated on just mortal sins though I’m sure I included a few venial sins. Although I know that my sins had been forgiven in previous confessions (yes, they were sufficient) the experience was still a healing and grace-filled one for me. It was a wonderful spiritual exercise but certainly one only to be repeated rarely, if ever.